70 percent houses rebuilt in Rasuwa

RASUWA, Dec 11: Rasuwa was one of the worst-affected districts by the devastating earthquake of 2015 in terms of both human causalities and destruction of properties. As the devastation nears its fourth year, majority of the residents have overcome their insurmountable grief and have started their life afresh by rebuild their settlements.

According to data maintained by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), about 70 percent of reconstruction works in Rasuwa has been completed till date. In the past 41 months, a total of 8,768 households completed reconstruction of their quake-damaged houses, said Rasuwa-based Project Implementation Unit of the NRA.

“Locals have expedited the pace of reconstruction as pressure mounts to claim the housing grant within the stipulated deadline,” said Krishna Kant Upadhyay, chief of the district unit.

In the past two years, the reconstruction works had failed to gather pace due to geographical difficulties, shortage of construction materials, and failure to develop road links in the rural areas. Those obstacles are being gradually overcome, helping in swift reconstruction works.

For instance, expansion of road network in Naukunda Rural Municipality and Aamachodingmo Rural Municipality has eased transportation of construction materials in those settlements. Those local units had prioritized road construction to ease reconstruction works.

“Without road access, we were unable to make any progress in reconstruction works for one-and-a-half years. But the reconstruction has gathered pace thanks to the road network we were able to build,” said Srijana Lama, vice chair of Naukunda Rural Municipality.

Currently, 80 percent of the houses built in the district are concrete. The new houses are also quake-resistant. Houses constructed in traditional manner have become a rare sight these days.

Naukunda has the highest rate of reconstruction while the progress is minimal in Gosainkunda Rural Municipality, according to NRA data. The district has a total of 12,490 beneficiaries who have signed contract for reconstruction grant with the NRA.